1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to bedding anchors and is particularly directed to apparatus for anchoring the sides of bedsheets and the like to prevent wrinkling or dislocation of the sheet by a person occupying the bed.
2. Prior Art
In hospitals, rest homes and the like, where patients spend considerable periods of time in bed and, often, are unable to leave the bed for more that a short period of time, if at all, the problem of sheet wrinkles can become a major concern, causing great discomfort to the patients and tending to cause skin irritation and to create bed sores which can become infected and, hence, may lead to serious complications. Unfortunately, no matter how tightly the sheets are drawn, during the process of making the bed, movement of the patient will, eventually, cause some loosening of the sheet and, thereby will create wrinkles. Obviously, it is impractical to provide continual attention for every patient, so that the sheets can be retightened whenever wrinkles occur. However, even when such constant attention is possible, as with full-time private nursing, some wrinkling invariably occurs.
Numerous devices have been proposed, heretofore, to overcome these difficulties. However, many of the prior art bedding anchors have served only to retain the corners of the bedding which aids in preventing dislocation of the sheets, but does little to prevent wrinkles. Other prior art bedding anchors have been provided inadequate gripping and, hence, have tended to slip and become ineffective. Still other prior art bedding anchors have been expensive to purchase and complicated to use. Again, some prior art bedding anchors have been effective when a patient is relatively quiet, but tend to become loosened when the patient is unsually restless. A search in the United States Patent Office has revealed the following references:
______________________________________ U.S. PAT. NO. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 2,931,084 H. K. De Witt Apr. 5, 1960 2,988,759 V. E. Gerdes Jun. 20, 1961 3,092,848 G. B. Gronvold Jun. 11, 1963 4,276,667 B. C. Osbourne Jul. 7, 1981 ______________________________________
Each of these patents is subject to the objections noted above. Thus, none of the prior art bedding anchors have been entirely satisfactory.